The municipal bus stand auditorium in Malappuram was packed. But nobody quite knew what to expect. After all, a new event was making its debut at the State School Arts Festival.
The moment V.G. Harikrishnan started his rendition of Pyar bhare do sharmile nain..., everyone was convinced that ghazal was here to stay. The student from GVHSS, Atholi (Kozhikode), was applauded loudly for his rendering of the timeless ghazal sung originally by Mehdi Hassan.
That was in 2013. And there were several fine attempts by the young singers. One recalls Alka Ajith’s version of Ghulam Ali Hungama hai kyun barpa. She was already a star, having sung playback and won a major reality show in Tamil.
Alka, in fact, went on to win the first prize. There are, of course, no places at the school festival now, only grades. But those days, the students are ranked though the results were not announced publicly.
Ghazal has gone on to become more popular at the school festival. Later on, accompanying musicians, usually professional, were allowed to be on the stage to play harmonium and tabla. And that has added to the charms, though that has meant spending more by the parents.
